How long could you continue to watch f1, if your favorite things about it were taken away?

Let my write my list:

Gone:

Drivers:Mika Hakkinen-Michael Schumacher-perhaps the greatest of them all? And the fact he's still fast in testing, you can't help but want him to compete with others still.Jean Alesi-passionateSenna-perhaps the greatest of them all-but definately a personality hard to replicate.Eddie Irvine-his party ways, you need a Irvine in every sport

Teams:Jaguar (I thought the green colors was a good mix, and the team deserved better results for it, gone too soon)

Still here:

Drivers:AlonsoHamiltonKimiThe fact these 3 have talent, is good, all different people , these 3 are good for f1, but if 2 of them are not competing for the title, the season is in trouble for me, because I rather see a fight, and unless it's Senna or Schumacher, 2 drivers I dont mind dominating since they were especially the best for me, I don't give a toss too much about drivers the same age or younger then me, BECAUSE THEY MAKE ME FEEL OLDER LOL, Senna and Schumi were older then me, other then feeling great being younger then them, I find it hard to look up to younger guys like Alonso-Hamilton, cocky and full of themselfs, I rather be driving the cars then watching them, unless of cource Senna or Schumi were driving. But I guess for other young ones, they can look up to them, but I'm not young anymore to do that

If the cars and rules allow these drivers to race well, then great, but if they don't, then it's harder for this era of f1 to impress me compared to the great races I've seen in the past. Plus I find it hard to see, that any of these drivers will be able to do impressive drives in the style of Schumacher, Schumacher kind of spoiled alot of fans by his impressive performances, at this time, I don't think Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi have replicated enough of the super Schumi drives, Schumacher was awesome in the race-3 stopper hungary-great strategy driving, or super in the rain-even in Spa 98 before his crash, the way he was driving, it was like watching a artist carve his masterpiece, Schumacher was a rarity. The sport moves on, but will the drivers give me the performances that Schumacher showed me? That's my problem, I need another driver as good as Schumi, but with perhaps the flare of Senna, and I don't see that guy yet, maybe in 10 years who knows? He could be out there now.

The thing about Senna and Schumi, they showed a awesome amount of pride as they tried to protect their reptuations as the best driver in f1, every quali session, race, there was something great there, and at times they were willing to do anything to get there, I think because they were flawed in their mission to win and openly showcased it on the centre stage of motorsport, it was hugely entertaining, and I don't see that with other drivers. Sure Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi are fast enough to win gps, but they lack in other areas, my brother for example, doesn't watch f1 much, but whenever he saw me watching Senna and Schumacher, he knew these guys were important, and rooted for them, like picking your favorite actors for films.

Teams[FERRARI] RENAULT-BMW

I am interested in BMW doing well, it would be cool if they were the best team sometime, I love ferrari, I always want them to win, but I wouldn't mind another team like BMW setting the standard sometime, if you don't follow a driver anymore that badly, then I guess I can follow Ferrari but wish BMW goodluck, that's another reason to keep tabs on f1.Another great thing about F1 IS TRAVELING!VISITING THE TRACKS FOR THE FIRST TIME

There's nothing like going Monaco, Albert Park, Canada and actually visiting the tracks, for those who have never seen a GP live, your in for a treat, your first time is something special, and going on a holiday abroad and watching a GP there, now that is something cool, the cars in person is just a experience YOU GOTTA HAVE AT LEAST ONCE.

I would like to go to a Night Race, a good time to party it up, start the drinking at a good time for the liver-the evening and watch f1 at night, that's a good development this season, the night races!

So I've lost things as I've gotten older for f1, but there are still things that make F1 a joy, and the main thing for me is probabley-Ferrari and Traveling to GPs, and of cource for now, Schumi is still competitive, if he ever came back, I have a savings account that would ensure I visit every gp that season if MS ever came back, it's not impossible, he's just needs to get bored lolThere's a glimmer of a hope, if anyone can do it, he can.

But I'll settle for ferrari to be competitive in some form and traveling to gps, that's the main thing for me. But I must say the drivers podium lacks a Schumi leap, it was a great inclusion to the celebrations, now the celebrations are just normal, that's another thing Schumi spoiled us with.

AND FINALLYRAIN RACES

THEY MAKE THE CRAP RULES GO AWAY for a day BREAKING IN THE WET IS A ART!May it always rain in some gps during a year, if it didn't in 2007, the ending of the season would of been boring and you know it!

Rain races have saved f1 as much as Senna and Schumi did, and the irony is they were rainmasters, so it makes sense right.

I still watch most races, but have stopped attending races in person altogether. The "sport" needs new management - both in the FIA and FOM camps. The biggest problem is Max and Bernie. Max is a pompous ass whose ego is all too often the cause for bad governance decisions. Bernie is just a money grubber who is intent on destroying the traditional venues of racing. I am so looking forward to the day that these dottering old men are gone from the F1 scene.

Originally posted by SeanValen I don't give a toss too much about drivers the same age or younger then me, BECAUSE THEY MAKE ME FEEL OLDER LOL, Senna and Schumi were older then me, other then feeling great being younger then them, I find it hard to look up to younger guys like Alonso-Hamilton, cocky and full of themselfs, I rather be driving the cars then watching them, unless of cource Senna or Schumi were driving. But I guess for other young ones, they can look up to them, but I'm not young anymore to do that

I'm older than them too, but I like them pretty much the same way as I like the older ones. F1 drivers are generally rather cocky anyway, so I don't have a problem with that. I think the fact that they're so young actually makes their cockiness rather cute. Some of Hamilton's cockier comments just made me grin, he reminds you how it's like to be 22, when you don't have self-doubt, when you believe everyting is possible.

It's only the begining of the post-schumacher era, it's too early to say how it compares to the schumacher era. It's true that no one from the current grid is as good as Schumacher, but I think for Alonso and Hamilton, their best years are ahead of them.

My F1 must have: Supremely talented driversFerrari and McLaren(or any team that manage to challenge Ferrari)Surprises in races

The strange thing is: the best seasons I've seen in F1 have also always been the worst seasons. 1982 - the comeback of Lauda, the death of Villeneuve, the title for Rosberg, the career-ending accident of Pironi, the last great battle between Cosworth and the turbo's, the arguments about the watertanks.

The same applies for 1994 and 2007. I won't mention all the good and bad stuff, you all know it. Good racing, exciting title chase and a lot of events that seem to spell the end of the sport.

So what must F1 have for me to keep watching? 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Something like that.

The best seasons are the ones with a close fight between good and evil. These are the ingredients of the great stories.

So for me Ron and Hammy are the heroes, Max and Montezemolo the bad guys. Kimi, Felipe and the race team are the misguided good guys who make Ferrari successes bearable.

For Ferrari fans then it's the other way round, Stepneygate and Hammy's extrovert competitiveness provide the bad guy elements, while Max obviously is Gandalf and Kimi is the perfect Viking hero.

All good, as long as we can applaud the winner, whoever that finally is.

As to the question, take Ron away, turn McLaren into Merceds F1, Williams into Toyota, give Ferrari some new advantage with a mid-season rule change, that would kill it off. As it is, I'm waiting for Melbourne more desperately than ever

I used to think that I wouldn't watch F1 after Häkkinen got out but there seems to be always someone to root for - an underdog, a guy with unbelievable bad luck that you just want to do good. I think this season I'll watch Kovalainen pretty closely and really hope he can show what he's made of and shove it to Flavios face.

Originally posted by Ricardo F1 Jesus that's hard to say. And frankly if you put either of them there then Hamilton has to go there too.

Yes especially in light of Hamilton's championship winning performance in the wet in China 2007.

There is not any one team or any particular driver that would make much difference to me if they left, Ferrari included. The only thing that pops into my mind at the moment that may cause me to switch off would be the loss of standing starts, that would pretty much remove any remaining excitement left in the current format.

For me, it must have at least a few of the best road racing drivers in the world, and at least a few of the classic tracks, like Spa, Monza, Suzuka, and I suppose, Monaco. I could care less about any of the teams, in fact F1 would be much better off if it got new blood, whether in the form of manufacturers or privateers, and got rid of Ferrari, Williams, etc. It also must still have racing in the rain, as few driver aids as possible, and more open technical rules. Oh, and some semblance of fairness in the rules (for all), an element of risk for the drivers ...

The thing that probably would lessen my interest is if it becomes too much of a spec series and if the drivers would start to behave like total PR-robots, I think F1 need some characters among the drivers.

Yes especially in light of Hamilton's championship winning performance in the wet in China 2007.

There is not any one team or any particular driver that would make much difference to me if they left, Ferrari included. The only thing that pops into my mind at the moment that may cause me to switch off would be the loss of standing starts, that would pretty much remove any remaining excitement left in the current format.

Yeah the starts are the best part of the race for me.Id stop watching if every track was designed by tilke Other than that i cant see myself not watching

After Alesi quit I kept watching but did not follow F1 in as much detail until Alonso came along. Did support Montoya for a little while but that was more an enjoyment of seeing him stick it to Schumacher in a ballsy way, horrible attitude though.

I think F1 is now more interesting than it has been in years. We have 4-5 guys who could win the championship in the right car.

After Hakkinen retired F1 went through the most boring era ever... the Ferrari/Schumacher total domination era... but now we have Kimi, Massa, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg, Kubica and perhaps Kovalainen... who could all win races. All relatively young drivers. I think the future is looking quite bright indeed.

Last season was terrific. I think 2008 has potential to be another very exciting season... of course depending how well Kovalainen and Massa can keep up with their star teammates. It's also interesting to see how much Renault can develop during the season. Alonso has shown his talent many times.

What's important? Well... as many competitive drivers as possible. So I'm hoping that Heikki, Felipe and perhaps even Alonso could win races too... it'd make an exciting season. If Kimi (or Hamilton) win everything it will kill the excitement.

I begin watching F1 in the mid 70s due to Andretti. I was a Ferrari fan from their road cars and sports car racing so it was only natural that I begin following them in F1. I still follow F1 but not as closely as I used too. I don't think this has so much to do with F1 as I now have commitemnts that chew up most Sundays from April through October.

My favorite "era" in F1 was mid 80s through mid 90s, paradoxilly(sic???) a very lean period for Ferrari. But I liked the drivers, I liked the cars, and F1 still had that "glamour" without being totally taken over by moent interests. It was fascinating.
My favorite drivers are still Mansell and Alesi, my "favorite" Ferrari victory was Mansells lead-off win in 89, and my favorite car was the '92 Ferrari. (was that the coke bottle?)
While I have enjoyed Ferrari's success recently, the "thrill" of F1 isn't the same. But I'm not sure if that has more to do with F1 or myself.

Perhaps that is the reason I did not yet sigh for the Cable connection for F1 this year. I won't watch Australia (not at that hour) so I will wait until normal racing (in terms of time) begins. Even then, if this year proves too boring, I will not sign at all.

Although it would be nice to see some drivers with personalities back in the sport. In recent times, Irvine, Montoya and Villeneuve have left a big hole in that regard. It will never be what it once was though so, really, what can you do? :

The 80's and to a lesser extent the 90's were superb. Now it seems like its business and nothing else. With every driver bound and gagged. Fun.

Ron Dennis: that outspoken quest for perfection, the subsequent blunders and the unfolding tension on the pitwall.... and then afterwards the creative "they-won-but-we-didn't-loose" explanations afterwards.

True! Enzo entered F1 because that was his goal (to race cars). Ferrari is still in F1 because the marque was created as a racing team and not as a car manufacturer. That's why they'll never leave.

If (a big if I know) things start going wrong and success eludes them sponsers will migrate to the new successful teams. If funding then becomes an issue the parent company would close/sell the operation as they would any unprofitable part of their business. Top teams have gone to the wall before, do not make the mistake of thinking that it could not happen to Ferrari as well.

These are not the same times that Enzo started in, and whilst Ferrari is probably one of the least likely teams to disappear, it should not be looked on as a cast iron guarantee.